The invention relates to infant supports that position an infant. More specifically, the invention relates to an infant support that is capable of supporting a child while the child is in either a lying or a seated position.
A variety of infant support apparatuses are known that enable an infant to be securely positioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,909 to McCarty discloses a cylindrical cushion that contains a bendable rod that is enclosed within it. The cushion is able to be formed into various configurations for supporting an infant by altering the shape of the rod within it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,418 to Tan et al. Discloses two opposed supports with a flexible sheet disposed between the supports. A child who is placed on the sheet is constrained from moving outside of a region defined by the two opposed supports. The supports may be formed of various shapes and may be filled with various materials to enable the supports to adapt to the shape and/or size of an infant. One of the support is releasable fastened to the flexible sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,785 to Petrus discloses a confining device for an infant that converts a seat cushion of a couch into a confining device for a resting infant. The confining device includes a sheet for covering the portion of the seat cushion where the baby is resting. A wedge is positioned along a perimeter of the sheet in order to provide a barrier so that the baby does not fall onto the floor.
A variety of flexible head or neck supports are known which can be disposed about an infant's head or neck while the infant is seated in a seat or car seat. One such known support includes a fabric liner extending from the head support that is intended to be disposed beneath the infant while the infant is seated in the seat.
None of these known devices can be used to securely position an infant both while lying prone on a flat surface and while seated in a seating apparatus. The '909 patent discloses a single, bendable support cushion. Since the apparatus of the '909 patent only consists of a single support, the apparatus does not conveniently provide for securely positioning an infant within opposing sidewalls while still allowing for adequate space for caring for the infant, e.g. changing the baby's diaper.
The '418 patent provides for securely positioning a lying infant between two opposing bolsters, however, the apparatus is not able to be used for positioning a seated infant. The bolsters are not able to be reconfigured, without removing one of the bolsters, such that they can be appropriately formed to support an infant seated on a child's seat. The support apparatus of the '785 patent also suffers from the drawback that it cannot be reconfigured to support a seated infant.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an infant support cushion that can be configured to securely position an infant that is either lying prone on a flat surface or that is seated in an infant seat without requiring removal of any of the support members of the apparatus.